The Chevy Volt of airplanes, the Volta Volare GT4, is ready to fly

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Seriously: electric airplanes. They’re about to take off. Testing begins this spring on the Volta Volare GT4. A recent story in Popular Science spiked interest in the four-passenger carbon fiber aircraft that isn’t really an electric plane but more of a plug-in hybrid plane, much like the Chevrolet Volt. (The PopSci headline touted “electric airplane” and the story admitted “hybrid drivetrain.”) Whatever it is, the Volta Volare aeronautics company of Portland, Oregon says the plane can travel 300 miles on battery power, then a 1.5-liter gasoline engine engages and extends the plane’s range to 1,000 miles. The company sees the plane being attractive for its low cost of operation and its environmental friendliness. Aviation gasoline (avgas) is typically leaded fuel, which has been gone from motor vehicle fuel since the 1980s. On a 200-mile trip in a comparable four-passenger gas-engine private plane, you’d burn $80 worth of avgas, while the electricity to carry the GT4 200 miles would cost only $20.

The plane is made of carbon fiber with a carbon fiber pusher prop (in back) and a canard design, meaning the big wing is in back, the short wing in front. The GT4 uses an array of 236 off-the-shelf lithium-polymer batteries weighing 900 pounds. The company says the battery pack and 600 hp (peak) electric motor weigh less than the internal combustion engine on a comparable plane, which allowed engineers to add in extra batteries for physical balancing of the plane. There’s also a 23-gallon gas tank. The gas engine kicks in when battery power falls to 25%.

Volta Volare says low maintenance costs will be a big attraction. The gas engine on a private plane needs an annual inspection that could cost several thousand dollars. In comparison, the GT4 could get by with a simple diagnostic checkup by laptop: Just plug in a USB cable to the electric motor. (Give or take the costs of checking the gasoline engine the GT4 has as well as the electric motor.) There hasn’t been much discussion of the plane’s actual list price, but its carbon fiber fuselage can’t be cheap. Its specifications, including a 160-knot cruising speed (184 mph), place it a level higher than the basic Cessna 182 four-passenger private plane that cruises at around 150 mph. Some of the electricity-not-gasoline savings are nice but still dwarfed by the purchase price that is likely to be over $500,000.

Still, if the Volta Volare comes anywhere near the claimed 300-mile range, that’s a pretty impressive feat from a plane running on what is effectively 236 largish laptop batteries. (At almost 4 pounds per battery, each battery is equal to 3-4 typical laptop batteries.)

Talk to me when they have built and tested a prototype. At this point it is just a drawing and a list of specifications.

SCH_Thurston

I concur. As keen as I am to see projects such as this become reality, the company’s website reads like a high school science project. (No offense, high schoolers!) In the “real world” there are regs and manufacturing issues and liability and… I invest in startups, I wouldn’t touch this project with someone else’s money!

It almost reads as it MSNBC wrote the review. I was expecting to hear it parks on tarmac.

Anonymous

Checked the web site reports a cost of $495,000 which includes interior, paint and a glass cockpit avionics suite (and HUD is available). A deposit of $9900 reserves your plane.

SCH_Thurston

Wonder if the $495K is just the kit or the expected build price. How much is your time worth…? :-)

rockymtbiker

Good question. My inference from reading the material on the web site is that the owner is encouraged to participate in the build, but it does sound like the build is controlled by the company. I suspect that the precise business plan is still in the “formative” stages. :-)

Anonymous

The canard design (which curiously looks like the Velocity) is a very efficient platform by itself due to the dual lifting surface design (as opposed to a lift/push down design of a Cessna, for example.) However, the trade off is incredibly long take-offs and landings.

IF you look back 109 years, you will see that the original Wright Flyer is also a canard design. That is how advanced there two brothers were!

Anonymous

Confused……
Volta Volare says low maintenance costs will be a
big attraction. The gas engine on a private plane needs an annual
inspection that could cost several thousand dollars. In comparison, the
GT4 could get by with a simple diagnostic checkup by laptop: Just plug
in a USB cable to the electric motor. (Give or take the costs of
checking the gasoline engine the GT4 has as well as the electric motor.)

Will they not need to check the gas engine? Just because the gas engine only runs to charge the batteries does not mean it does not need a regular check? Am I missing something here? I would think both engines (gas and electric) would need to be checked thus increasing your cost of maintenance.

rockymtbiker

I think that’s a question a lot of us have. This is another case of regulatory bodies being behind technological advances. It seems clear that the PRIMARY drive system is electric, so I suspect the contention would be that that drive system falls under the FAA inspection mandate. But since the FAA did not anticipate hybrid drive systems when it formulated its regs, that will need to be sorted in amendments.

Anonymous

While I’m impressed by the specs and performance… I would expect more information on the website when spending $500k for a plane. Plus it also looks like these airplanes will receive an “experimental category” airworthiness certificate..?

“Once your aircraft is completed, an FAA examiner must first check your
and our Builder Assist Team’s work and issue a Certificate of
Airworthiness.”

Is this plane flying yet? It seems like the wait is just a few months after you place your deposit.

“With our current projects, development schedule and available production
capacity, expect to begin assembly approximately 90 – 180 days from
Deposit date and assembly time of approximately 60 – 90 days. Much of
this depends on you, but our professional sales representatives are with
you every step from initial order to flying your GT4 home.”

Sergio Simon

DeBei just introduced a lightweight 6-cylinder rotary engine that would be perfect for this plane. Very few moving parts (fewer than 100) and a very high power to fuel burn. Could increase the range or dramatically drop the weight.

I am wondering if there is a military application here. with an electric motor, wouldn’t the plane be almost silent?

Chuck_Borealis

ALL aircraft, including experimental, require an annual inspection. The engine on this one would not be exempt, and it would require the same inspection tasks as any other piston aircraft engine. The claim that 900 lbs of batteries and the electric motor weigh less than a ‘comparable’ engine is total BS. The engine in a C-182 weighs about 400 lbs.

so now “inventing” only needs a diagram, some unicorn dust and promises of “will” and “should”? Let’s see some flight hardware, then we’ll talk.

talbertwv

The best
lithium-polymer batteries have a power density of 130 Wh per Kg. 900 lbs. of the could store 53.2 Kw. That’s 73.1 Hp for one hour. Electrics are about 80% efficiency, but let’s use 90%. That gives us 65.8 Hp. Let’s see 600 Hp motor, climb out at 100% power for 5 min.that’s 50 Hp used. That gives us 15.8 Hp/Hr left. Tell me how they get 300 Mile range?

Michael Sundermeyer

There are a number of things that don’t add up here. Including what has already been pointed out, we have:
– A gas engine weighs a lot less than 900 lb, and this has both
– Energy density of batteries can’t drive that much Hp 300 miles
– Inspection would likely be required on electric and gas engines
– Buyers are not just encouraged to build, they are required to: I believe experimental rules say it must be 51% owner-built
– Insurance on experimentals can be quite high
– Flying pictures show no wheels, have they been photoshopped out?

I agree with the earlier post: this looks like a very risky investment…

QKodiak

$495,000? That’s a steal for 4-seat luxury airplane with the performance, looks, safety, efficiency, and technology it offers

The ICE generator will not need to be overhauled nearly as often, saving tens of thousands of dollars. The electric system is pretty much maintenance free. Those annual inspections are mandatory and have nothing to do with the engine. The batteries also last 7-10 years before they hit the recommended replacement point (80% degradation). At that point, you can keep using them or replace them with the money saved in maintenance and fuel costs.

QKodiak

$495,000? That’s a steal for 4-seat luxury airplane with the performance, looks, safety, efficiency, and technology it offers

The ICE generator will not need to be overhauled nearly as often, saving tens of thousands of dollars. The electric system is pretty much maintenance free. Those annual inspections are mandatory and have nothing to do with the engine. The batteries also last 7-10 years before they hit the recommended replacement point (80% degradation). At that point, you can keep using them or replace them with the money saved in maintenance and fuel costs.

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